Signaling and operating mechanism for switches.



'W. R. OYLER.

SIGNALING AND OPERATING MECHANISM FOR SWITCHES.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 14, 1908.

Patented Dec. 7, 1909.

' 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

mi ess es,

W. R. OYLER. SIGNALING AND OPERATING MECHANISM FOR SWITCHES.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 14, 1968.

Patented Dec. 7, 1909.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

zzy I fwnmam R. oYLER, or AKRON, OHIO.

' SIGNALINGHAND "OPERATING MECHANISM FOR SWITCHES.

To all whom it may ro nc'er n.

lie it known that LWVILIJAMR. (hunt, a

citizen of the United States, residing at.

Akron, in the countybf Sumniitand State provcnicnts gin Signailing and" Operating Mechanism forswltch ofwhuh the following is a specificatu'm;

My present inw-ii'itio'n relates"to improvements 111 signaling-and operating mechanism for preventing collisions, ideraihnents or other accidents at railwayswitches, 'and it has for itsprimary"object to provide a novel and improved mechanism of this character which is operable. autolnatically.and positively with relation to tlicjiswitch' without requiring or depend? foi" i-ts operation upon humaniagency. so 'tl1at'absolut-e certaintycis insure 7 connected w '1 "relation to I the switch that should the switch [be in 'opei'i position, such for instance as after a" local train has taken a siding, a'signal upon the track'at a suitable distance in advance of the switch W ll be set in danger or warning position, and by preference, an alarm operating device will also he setin operative position so as to sound an audible signal of an appropriate character in the cab of anapproaching locomotive, and atia suitable distance beyond the s gnal devices is provided'means for .positivelvand automatically setting the switch in closed .liQsition beforeltheapproaching train reachesthesan'ie sot'hat thefltrain after passing the signal devices inust restore the so itch to closed. or' proper ,position Joefore reaching it, the switch o'pei atn'ig' and signal devices being connectedlat alltinies and by,

a continuous connection,with,the switch so 1 that. the latter cannot; be inovedpwithoutsetting tilt, signaJhndJ the alai n ,operatiiig def vice and anism inv proper position.

A further obj ct provide signaling the switch is inclos pos tion orin aposi ma in linc,.there v ll be io,. pa;r o fithle an ism projecting above the t1 aclts rails so i. that damage .to theseparts lnppe iatlngsnow vj plows or other track-clearing apparatus is impossible.

To these and other ends, the invention p k Specificationof Letters Patent.

A ipli eationfiled July 14, 1908. Serial No. 443,456.

themechanism being so also" the; switch oneratingjmechfatheinve tion. to an 's v te pe ting. inecl'ianism of, this character WllliCll of, a. simple and improved co istiitiction,;and when" Patented Dec. 7, 1909.

consists in certain improvements, and combinations and arrangements of parts, all as will be hereinafter more fully described, the novelfeatures being pointed out particularly in the claims at the end of the specification. In the accompanying drawing: Figure 'l is a .plan view of asection of a track equipped with switch operating, signaling and alarm setting mechanism constructed in accordance with my present invention; Fig. 2 represents a'vert'icaI sectional view of the track and the switch mechanism shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 represents a transversesection of thetraek upon the line 3 3 of Fig.v 1; Fig. at is a pers 'iectiv'e view of the alarm sounding'deviee and the stationary signal which is arranged beside the track at a suit able distance from the switch and indicates the position occupied by the latter; Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic view showing a locomotive cab equipped with one form of audible alarm which is operable automatically as the locomotive passesa given point upon the track should t-lf; switch be in open position; Fig. (3 is a detail sectional view of the alarm operating device; Fig. 7 is a perspective view of one of the treadles which is operable by the flanges of the locomotive wheels for automatically restoringthe switch to a proper position; and Fig. 8 is an end elevation of the said treadle showing it mounted 111 cooperative relation with one of the rails.

Similar parts are designated by the same reference characters in the several views.

Safety. appliances for protecting railway trains .at switches maybe constructed in ac cordance with my present invention so as to be applicablegenerally toysteam or electric railways ofv Vill'lOltS types wherein a switch isemployed and, m. the accompanybodimentsofthe. invention applied to such a,

ing "drawi g-,1 have shown one specific emswitch. Itwillioe understood, however, that lfhave shown only o ne. form of the invention and that various, modifications and changes ,in the construction and arrangement vof the y fpart s and 'the relative proportions. and sizes. tion'flto ei'n it. .pa ,gefof; trains upon theip l of these .pai'tsanay alsolhemodified or vaiiied,

in practice- In the operation of railways, it is customary to side-track freight and local trains from the main track in order to permit the g3 I I 942,099

A the resetting of the switch after the passage of such freight or local trains upon the siding depends upon human agency, it fre quently occurs that there is a failure through carelessness or otherwise to reset the switch for the main line, thetrain following in those cases being either derailed at the switch or passes upon the siding and collides with the stationarylocal or freight train. According to the present invention,'the resetting of the switch does not depend upon human agency, it being reset automatically by the follow-'- ing train as it passes a point a suitable distance in advance of the switch, and as an additional precaution, a stationary signal is displayed beside thetrack and an alarm is sounded in the cab of the locomotive to warn the engineer of the position of the switch in order that the train may be under control or it may be stopped before reaching the switch.

In the present embodiment of my invention, the rails 1 of the main track are connected to a siding or turn-out 2 by means of a suitable switch, that shownin the present instance being provided with the usual pair of switchpoints 3 which are connected by a cross bar 4c, these switch points when in one position serving to direct trains upon the siding, while when it occupies a reverse position, it conduct-s trains along the main line. This switch is as usual capable of operation at a point in proximity thereto in order that certain trains, such as freights, may take the siding. Any suitable switch shifting means may of course be provided, that shown in the present instance. comprising a switch stand '5 having a vertical shaft 6 provided with a crank or lever 7, the'lower end of the shaft being fitted with a crank 8 which' is connected by a link 9 to the switch operating rod 10, the latter being pivotally attached at 11 tothe cross bar 4 which connects the switch points, a turning movement of the shaft 6 of the switch stand in an appropriate direction serving to set the switch points so as to permit a train to pass from the main track onto a siding, the

switclii being shown set in such position in Fi i v Xttached to the switch operating rod 10 is a lever arm 12, the said lever being pivoted at 13 upon a suitable supporting plate 14. This lever is also provided with an angularly arranged arm 15 to which is attached a connecting member 16 which may be composed of a pipe or other suitable '-means for transmitting motion from the switchto the operating mechanism and signahng devices therefor. ThlS member 16 extends along the track preferably at the outer side thereof for a suitable distance in advance of the switch where it connects with" a shaft 17 which extends transversely of out interfering with the switch operating mechanism which is connected to this shaft This shaft may be supported in any suitable way, but it is generally preferable to pro vide a pairof bearing members 18 and 19 for each rail, these bearing members being in the form ofa pair of similarly formed blocks having oppositelyarranged flanges at their upper ends so as to engage the base flange ,of the rail, the blocks being clamped firmly in cooperative relation with the rail by means of bolts 20 which pass through the blocks. By supporting the said shaft upon the rails in this manner, the necessity of boring through the rails and thus weakening the same is obviated. Upon each end of the shaft 17 immediately inside' of the respective rails are arranged a pair of crank arms 21 which are fixed to the said shaft and haveupwardly extendipg links 22 pivoted to their free ends. A pair of trea dles or flange engaging members 23 are also mounted immediately adjacent to theinnerside of each rail, these members being pivotally 9 supported at those ends thereof which are farthest removed from the switch by means of brackets 24, these bracketsmach having a base plate 25'which is adapted to rest upon and'to be spikedto the cross tie, alid each bracket has a pair of laterally spaced upstanding portions 26 .which' form a socket between them to receive the.corresponding end of the treadle. In the,present instance, the treadle or flange engaging members are each of T-form in cross section so as to form a relatively wide top and a depending web or flange which not only serves to stiffen thetreadle longitudinally so as to prevent bending thereof, but it also provides convenient means for the attachment of the treadle.to be bracket 24 and the link 22, this depending web 27 resting between the lip-standing portions 26 of the bracket and is pivoted thereto by means of :i bolt 28, while this web portion atthe o posite end of the treadle rests betweenthe forked arms at the upper end of the link 22 and 1s pivoted thereto by means of the hot 29.

The treadle is so mounted tl t the forward end thereof which is supported by the bracket 24 is always below the plane of the tops 6f the rails while the opposite end of the treadle or the end nearer the switch is adapted to be raised by a rotation of the shaft 17 in one direction, thereby throwing the treadle into an inclined position so that it will be engaged by the wheel flanges and will be depressed as the train passes over the same. In order to permit trains to andepressed should a .t'lttl fro n the switch.

p'roa'rh these, t readles .from; ,t be direct ion of siding, and as. a train passesover these ti'eadles, the wheel flanges will :depress the ing member 16 which o .)era'ting through the lever arins'lil andlt'i will restore the switch automatically to closed position.

In order to notify the engineeron an approaching. train of the position or condition of the switch atfsuclt point as to enable the engineerto put histrain under control, the

connecting anember lti -is extended along 'thetrack farther in advance of the switch and is connectedin thepresentinstance to a=stationary visual sigi'ial which is arranged beside the trackati dailsoito a device for setting an alarm upon theapproaching 10- V coinotive or train-so as to warn the engineer zit-a suitable point 111 advance of the switch as to thepositionioccupiedfthereby. In the present instance, the member is connected to arrank 32- arranged upon a shaft 33,1110 latter being rotatably supported beneath the rails upon suit-able bearingbrackets 3t and isprovidcd with a tripping device 35 which is arranged to project in an operative position above-the track when the shaft 33 is siding. and whi'le'the I vitclt is set' for the main track, this tripping device will belowtl'fltl hfi as to occupy an inoperat ve position.

\ 'll'iis tripping deviceis arranged tocoiiperatewith a pa'rt c arried by i' lit lOCOlilOtiVG or moring train so' as to operate a suitable alarm which is 'aia'aiiged i n the cab, and in the present instance a-lever 36 is pivoted at 37 tothe.locoiiiotive, thefl'iwerend of this lever being arranged inthe path of the trippingi'levice sr s to be'ei igaged'by'the latter when in anoperative *1 ition' above the tracln'and the, uppcr'endo this lever in the present :i-iistaiice ispro'vnflt dwith a striker 38 which is arraiige'd to st-iu'iida bell orother auclil'ile-signal and is actuated o V priii'g- 40. I have shown, however, -oii lyfone tliat any other isiiitable alarn'ii'nay be piovided upon the locomotive, 'aiith if so' desired, the whistle of the locomotive may be sounded as a warnii'ig signal to the engineer. However, when the switch is set for the main treadles, producing a pull upoirthe connectact of moving the s\ it asidi ig posit vely sets the tlange engaging treadl'eslit-operativepos tion, and a tra n cannot passt'liese treadles without having.

3!), the striker beingjinoved away from the bell as the lowerend ofthe to defti l'l ll of v i i i alarm, and itwill'bounderstood of course track, the tripping device will be depressed so that it will not engage the lever and the alarm of course in that case would not be sounded.

A visual signal also arranged in the present instance beside the track, the signal This stationary signal is also operated by the continuous operating member 16, although in the present instance it is indirectly operated from the shaft 3 5 \\lll('ll()1)01':ll0$ the tripping device tor the alarm, thesliat't 33 being provided with a crank arm in! which cooperates with the pin 45 of a second crank arm it), the latter being fixed to a transverseshaft L? which in turn is 'pro vided on its outer end with a crank arm 48,

the latter being connected by a link if) to a crank arm 50 fixed to the signal standard 41. It may happen sometimes that a train will 'pass 'over the alarm tripping device while moving in a direction from the switch, and in order to permit such a backing movement of a train while the tripping device is in elevated or operative position, the upper end of this tripping device is pivoted to form a latch 51 which is attached to the tripping device by the transverse pivot 52 whereby this latch portion may be swung or tilted in one direction without operating the alarm sounding device upon the train, although when this latch portion is engaged by a part upon atrain approi-ichiiig the switch, it will actuate the tripping device so as to sound the alarm. This latch portion is yieldingly rctained in operative position by means of a spring 53. v I

In operating railways equipped at the switches with safety mechanism constrnctrd in accordance with my invention, the occur rence of collisions, ,derailnients and other accidents is practically, impossible, as tlie ch so as to set it for the flanges of the wheels engage. and depre them, the; positive connection between the;

ti'eadle's a 'id switcli causing. the latter to be retiirnedjto normal or-proper position before,

the train reaches thesainc. Not oiily is the switch automatically switch, but. ainp'le warning is given the en ginecr so that he may reduce speed or stop if necessary before reaching the switch, the

reset to normal posi tion by. the train itself before it. reaches the tripping device being set in position to actuate an alarm upon the locomotive or train itself at such a distance from the switch as will afford ample time to stop the vehicle, and this alarm tripping device is also positively set in warning position by the act of setting the switch for the'siding. Furthermore, as an additional precaution, a signal beside the track is also positively set in warning or cautionary position by the act of setting'the switch for the sidin Thus it will be observed that all the mechanism is operated positively and without depending upon human agency in any respect, the signaland alarm devices being of necessity set in warning or cautionary position as long as the switch is set for the side track, and the switch operating mechanism being likewise positively connected to the switch so that a train traveling along the main track cannot possibly pass the switch while it is set for the side track. \Vhen the switch is properly set for the main line, the alarm tripping device and the switchoperating treadles are of course in an inoperative position so that they are not operated by the train, and while in such position, they would not form obstructions for snow plows or other trackelearingapparatus. 4 By mounting the wheel flange engaging members or treadles so that they-occupy a gradually inclined'position, it is obvious that ample time is aflorded inwhich the switch and connected parts may be operated without shock, and by constructing these inclined treadles of appropriate length in practice, they may be easily operated by trains moving at high speed.

I claim as my invention 1. The combination of a railway switch, a

tr'eadle arragged immediately adjacent to the ,inner side of a rail in advance of the switclrand operative by a wheel flange upon a train, a bracket pivotally supporting one end of the treadle,the-opposite end of the treadle being gradually inclined upwardly, a shaft extending transversely of the rail and having a crankthereon, a link pi'votally connecting said crank and the upper end of the treadle, said link preventing tilting or lateral movement of the trcadle with respect to the rail, and a connection between said shaft and switch for positively setting the switch in a prcdeterlnincd position when said treadle is depressed by the passage .of a train thereovcr approaching the switch.

2. The combination of a railway switch, a pair of treadles arranged at a given point in advante' of the switch and in immediate roximity to the inner sides of the ails, means for pivotally mounting those ends of the treadles farthest removed from the switch at such elevations as to clear the wheel flanges, a shaft extending transversely of the track and beneath the two rails, a pan of cranks on said shaft, a pair of links ---nection between said shaft an pivotally connected to'said cranks and attached to the vertically movable ends of the treadles, said links preventing tilting or lateral displacement of the treadles with respect to the rails and serving to positively depress the treadles when said shaft is rotated in one direction, and an o erative con- ,the switch whereby the latter will be set in predetermined'positi'on by the simultaneous depression of said treadles.

3. The combination of a 'ailway switch, a shaft arranged transversely of the track in advance of the switch and provided with a pair of cranks, and a pair of treadles arranged immediately within the respective rails,- each treadle being of T-form in cross section, a pair of brackets cooperating with the web of the respective treadles at the forward ends thereof, a pair of links'straddling and pivotally attached to the web portions of the treadles at the opposite ends thereof, a crank attached to the outer end of said shaft, and a connection extending along the track and connecting thcsaid crank upon said shaft to the switch, said connection serving to positively elevate the treadles into inclined position when the switch is set for a siding and for positively setting the switch for the main track when the inclined treadles are depressed by the wheel flanges on a passing train.

4:.- The combination of a railway switch, a signal arranged at a suitable point upon the track in advance of the switch, treadles ar ranged upon the track at a point between said switch and signal, said treadles being automatically operative by a passing train and connected to operate said switch and asingle rigid connection hehveen the switch treadles and signal for positively setting the signal in warning position when the switch is set for a siding and for returning the signal to clear position when the switch is reset for the lnailrtrack.

5. The combination of a railway switch,

lneansfor setting the same, a shaft mounted transvgnscly of the track at a suitable distance in advance of the switch and operativety connected to the switch setting means, a crank arm rigidly mounted on "said shaftbetween the rails of the track and provided with an extension that is' pivoted thereon to form a latch, a spring connecting said crank ranged along the track between the said 1:" :h and swit h for positively setting the -latch in inoperative position when the switch the switch is set in a different position.

6. The combination of a railway switch,- a signal'arranged upon the track a suitable distance inadvance of the switch, switch throwing mechanism also arranged upon the track at a point between the signal and switch and operative automatically by a passing train, and a continuous rigid operative connection between the switch the signal and the switch throwing mechanism, for positively setting the switch throwing mechanism in operative position to be actuated by a passing train and to set the signal in warning position and for positively setting the switch for the main track and for restoring the signal to clear position when the switch throwing mechanism is actuated by a passing train.

7. The combination of a railway switch, a

signal arranged upon the track at a suitable distance inadvance of the switch, an alarm tripping device also arranged upon the track in advance of the switch, switch throwing mechanism arranged upon the track between the signal and switch, 'a'lrdsa continuous.

operative connection for the signal alarm tripping dev1ce, and switch throwing mechanism for sctting the switch throwing mechanism and tripping device in operative position and thesignal in warning position when the switch is set for a siding and for positively resetting the switch for the main track and for restoring the alarm tripping device to aniinoperative position and the signal to a clear position when.the switch throwing mechanism is actuatedby a passing train.

- In testimony whereof I-have hereunto set my hand 1n presence of two subscribing witnesses.

VILLIAM R. OYLER.

\Vitnsses J1me. S. Hymn, JAMES L. NORRIS, J r. 

